MD09

I will be very surprised if we even qualify for 2010. The coach is gone and so will be many of the half decent players we had.

MD09

At the world cup we put our best team forward, ever.

We beat South Korea. big deal, they're hardly a force to be reckoned with.

Drew with Croatia. So we didn't even win.

Lost to brazil. Well that was always going to happen.

And lost to Italia. That was always going to happen too.

We won 1 game out of 4. There's nothing there that excites me.

jond

It's what you are brought up with. I have been to rugby league in the UK and watched it over here and it just bores me silly.

I got up at 2.00am this morning to watch the cup final from Cardiff and I was buzzing so much afterwads that I couldn't sleep, so I started work at 4.30. Mind you I had to have a couple of hours kip around 9.00.

BadgeIsBack

Well I was brought up in the UK where soccer is dominant but hate it(!)
But the fact I haven't seen a soccer ball since I was 11 probably contributed to it. From age 12 and school it was rugby all the way. It was made quite clear to us that soccer was NOT on the menu(!)

jond

It was the complete opposite for me, we played football then more football and in the summer it was cricket and then 5 a side football. Never saw an egg the whole time I was there.

Perhaps that is why the area I am from has produced so many England internationals.

Womat

So true.

I was raised on AFL and have tried to appreciate soccer, and I do appreciate the skill level, it can be a beautiful game to watch, but I remember watching a world cup game once and I sat and I watched, with about 10 minutes to go I finally succumbed to the call of nature, gone only a minute and missed the only bloody goal of the match! While I saw some great skills it left me feeling like I'd wasted my time and I just can't stand some of the players histrionics.

I think another major problem for soccer/football advancing in this country is that Australia's best players are lured overseas, now I don't blame them for this at all, but until a lot of them stay and play in the local league then how can the standard of the game progress?

Soccer may one day challenge the AFL and NRL but I think it may be a long way down the road, it's got a few challenges to overcome, along with keeping the players here, converting AFL and NRL fans, the fiasco that has been soccer administration here and also some very ugly crowd behaviour both here and overseas.

BadgeIsBack

Well.......at least you haven't mentioned that 'we were beaten by the eventual winners so we must be good' line that some of your - sorry (!) our compatriots mention.

Have to admit though, that was just in the free Melbourne rag, just a bit of excited journalism.

jond

I think another major problem for soccer/football advancing in this country is that Australia's best players are lured overseas, now I don't blame them for this at all, but until a lot of them stay and play in the local league then how can the standard of the game progress?

Soccer may one day challenge the AFL and NRL but I think it may be a long way down the road, it's got a few challenges to overcome, along with keeping the players here, converting AFL and NRL fans, the fiasco that has been soccer administration here and also some very ugly crowd behaviour both here and overseas.[/QUOTE]




I agree, this is always going to be a vicious circle, for the game to improve the best players will have to stay here, but they won't stay here until it does improve as they can play at a far better level abroad.

TrickyTree

To a point you are correct Badge football (round ball) is wasted on Australians of my generation (30's) and older as they have not grown up with the sport. But I think anything they have now is a bonus they are aggressively targeting the younger generation and being the most popular sport at present in that category will only help in its expansion through the years. Once you have them young you usually have them for life (take your own example and rugby).

As I said originally the product has to continually improve and if it does it could go anywhere if it doesnt it will not move forward.

BadgeIsBack

But I was mad on soccer before that. And I think there will still be pressure on teenage boys in VIC to play aussie rules. There are probably exit or decision points where by both codes can lose boys to the other code.

Deadmeat

Hey, Mr Cheery!

The South Koreans and Japanese do look alike don't they?

I thought Australia did well, what I was particularly impressed with was the fact that they did not invite pressure, they were always looking to attack and move forward ... something that England seem to be progressively forgetting.

fillinghams

...............so no wigan athletic supporters then.....

chilli

i think its against the english and scottish pysche too..
rule makers have made it profitable to dive (i hate that).

football could learn from union in the way it changed its rules to make the game more attractive.

union and league allows for contact. any frustrations can be worked out in the game.
punching happens in every game of rugby and is part of the game, raise your hands in football and you will be of, with all the media outcry that goes with it.

aus will have a good team soon, the world has sent its sons to play there.
that and the undoubted aussie 'win mentality' augers well for the future.

cricket is not 'big in england now, nor the west indies, where basketball has taken their tall bowlers.
football is the worlds game, rugby is not.

Australia_bound?

I take it you've never seen Harry Kewell play then? Funny how there are numerous Aussie plying their trade around european clubs but you say it's not an Australian thing?

chilli

i think he meant the diving.